asked the Minister of Transport if he will introduce a standard method of cost-benefit analysis of proposed trunk road schemes so as to enable like-for-like comparisons to be made between them.

A standard method of cost-benefit analysis of proposed trunk road schemes has been in use since the 1960s, and has been up-dated at regular intervals. It was endorsed by the advisory committee on trunk road assessment.For the majority of schemes the method is applied in the form of a standard computer programme (COBA). This cannot, however, be applied to certain major schemes, especially in and around conurbations, where a specific cost-benefit analysis is carried out using the same principles. A simpler form of the same method is applied to schemes expected to cost less than £0·5 million.